Darlington Nagbe likely would have been a victim of Liberia’s First Civil War which claimed an estimated 250,000 lives had not his mother, Somah, made the courageous decision to flee the country when he was just five months old. . She found temporary refuge in Sierra Leone, a neighboring country in West Africa.
Somah eventually found a way out of Sierra Leone with her two young children to join her husband, Joe Nagbe, who at the time was a professional football player plying his trade in the French League.
Darlington Nagbe bio
The Nagbe family moved to Cleveland in 2001 near the end of Joe Nagbe’s career when Darlington was around 11 years old. He was enrolled at Lakewood High School and then at St. Edward’s High School. In high school, it was obvious that the young Nagbe was destined for a career in football like his father.
On the St. Edward High School football team, Darlington had 18 goals and 10 assists. He was also part of the Region II ODP team and the Ohio North ODP team that won four Ohio North State club titles with the Cleveland Internationals. While honing his skills with these more or less amateur executives, Darlington was spotted at the age of 15 by Caleb Porter, then head coach at the University of Akron.
Darlington was offered a scholarship to the University of Akron on Porter’s recommendation. He won 2008 All-MAC Newcomer of the Year. As a sophomore, he was named to the NSCAA All-America Second Team, Soccer America MVP Second Team, and All-Conference First Team. -Mid-American Conference. He spent three successful seasons there, winning the national championship in 2010. Individually, Darlington Nagbe won the Hermann Trophy in 2010 as college football player of the year. He had 19 goals and 19 assists in 73 games over three college seasons at Akron.
The budding star joined the Portland Timbers in 2011 and made his debut in a 1-1 draw with New England Revolution. The following season, after the club finished 3rd in the standings, they were reunited with their former boss, Caleb Porter, on January 8, 2013, when Porter was announced as the new coach of the Timbers. Porter aims to help Darlington reinvent his game, positioning him as an outside striker instead of a midfielder. The more advanced role paid off, with his creativity and incisive nature helping the team become deadlier in attack.
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In the 2013 season, the Timbers finished first in the Western Conference and third overall, earning them a berth in the MLS Cup Playoff Conference Championship Series.
Atlanta United bought Darlington from Portland on December 13, 2017, Timber bought for $1.05 million and $600,000 in incentivized add-ons. Under former Barcelona and Argentina manager Gerardo Tata Martino, Nagbe was part of the impressive front line which scored the second most goals in the league.
On the international stage, Darlington was the first called up to the United States national team in 2015 and made his debut on 13 November 2015 against St. Vincent in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. national team was won in the 90th minute in a friendly match against Ecuador on May 25, 2016.
Darlington was part of the United States team that failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. During the qualifiers, he started 7 of his 10 matches.
wife and family
Darlington Nagbe met Felicia Houtz in college and the couple got married in 2012. The marriage is blessed with a son Kingston Nagbe and a daughter, Mila Nagbe.
He was born to Somah and Joe Nagbe. His father, Joe, is a former professional football player who played for AS Monaco, Nice PAOK Thessaloniki, Panionios, PAS Giannina and Al-Jazira club. Joe also served as captain of the Liberian national team.
He has an older brother – Joe Nagbe Jr. and two younger sisters, Seta and Martha.
Height, weight and body measurements
Darlington’s style of football is built around intelligence, speed, clever footwork and quick short passing rather than a towering physical frame. He stands 1.75 meters tall and weighs 75 kg. Information about his other body measurements is not available in the public domain.